Several comic greats pay tribute to the legendary stand-up stage founded by Budd Friedman in 1963.
Social & External
Narrator (voice)
Self
Self (archive footage)
Based on an incident in the life of Beat icon Neal Cassady and his wife, the painter Carolyn, the film tells the story of a railway brakeman whose wife invites a respected bishop over for dinner. However, the brakeman's Bohemian friends crash the party, with comic results. Pull My Daisy is a film that typifies the Beat Generation. Directed by Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie, Daisy was adapted by Jack Kerouac from the third act of his play, Beat Generation; Kerouac also provided improvised narration.
Orson Welles presents a proposed film project to prospective investors in Spain. Speaking to an audience of wealthy arts patrons, Welles outlines his vision for an improvised, documentary-style fiction set in the world of bullfighting, centered on a solitary, existential matador who stands apart from his peers. As he expounds on cinema, performance, and the ritualized spectacle of death, the film captures a project that would ultimately remain unrealized.
A salesman and a sexologist have misadventures with plot development determined by the votes of the studio audience.
Things go badly for a small film crew shooting a low-budget zombie movie when they are attacked by real zombies.
Cecil Taylor was the grand master of free jazz piano. "All the Notes" captures in breezy fashion the unconventional stance of this media-shy modern musical genius, regarded as one of the true giants of post-war music. Seated at his beloved and battered piano in his Brooklyn brownstone the maestro holds court with frequent stentorian pronouncements on life, art and music.
Two friends resort to playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, flipping a coin, and detailed, yet petty analyzation of their friendship to determine which of them will call the mother of their recently deceased best friend, informing her of his demise.
For 14 years Johanna and Boris live as a couple. Looking for her purpose in life, Johanna visits a seminar of the alternative community "Center for Inner and Outer Peace". Although she's still in love with her boyfriend, Johanna decides to change her life completely, moving to Switzerland to live in this community. Boris however is not amused. During the world-cup soccer finale, the couple experience its own crucial struggle.
An irreverent group of teens - Thirty, Whoopie, Headguy, Pinky, Stinky, Jumbo, Giggles, and James - are thrown into a two-day panic-induced adventure after one of them discovers she's pregnant.
Ben Schwartz tries to nail an audition. An improvised short film.
Dissatisfied with the dishonesty they see in dating, strangers Naima and Sergio make a pact to spend 24 straight hours together in an attempt to fast forward their relationship.
In 1989, a collective of young hip hop artists gathered at a health food café in South Central Los Angeles. Their mandate? To reject gang culture and expand the musical boundaries of hip hop. DuVernay's documentary chronicles the historic legacy of the Good Life Cafe — the open mic nights that became an L.A. institution, the eclectic array of talented young MCs that emerged there, the alternative hip hop movement they developed, and their worldwide influence on the artform.
"All-Stars" is a hilarious commentary on the state of all youth sports today, fueled by the outrageous behavior of the desperate sports parent living vicariously through his or her child. In the vein of "Best in Show", where it's more about the dog owners than the dogs - "All-Stars" is about the adults involved in youth sports (parents, coaches, umpires, volunteers, board members, etc.) more than the kids. The end result is a funny, yet compelling spin on fast pitch softball as well as a unique state of affairs on the outlandish antics of a few crazed parents.
From radical turntablism (Otomo Yoshihide) to laptop music innovation (Numb), via classical instrument hijacking (Sakamoto Hiromichi), Tokyo's avant-garde music scene is internationally known for its boldness. While introducing some of the greatest musicians of this scene, "We Don't Care About Music Anyway..." offers a kaleidoscopic view of Tokyo, confronting music and noise, sound and image, reality and representation, documentary and fiction.
Jean-Jacques Garbo is deeply dismayed by his wife's infidelity when he suddenly has inklings of another love affair.
An improv group deals with several crises, including the loss of their lease and one member hitting the big time.
A mockumentary that follows the 5 main contestants of The Golden Apron contest, a competition in search of "the greatest home chef in America", being held by a nefarious food manufacturing company with their own corporate agenda.
In this prequel to FERN, Bill Verne attempts to climb the cut-throat corporate ladder of Mammon Incorporated, only to find that his pursuit of wealth and success comes at a devastating cost to both his loved ones and the world around him.
Artist, showman, and robe-clad raconteur Marc Rebillet embarks on one of the first live music tours after COVID-19 lockdown.
Jerry Seinfeld returns to the club that gave him his start in the 1970s, mixing iconic jokes with stories from his childhood and early days in comedy.
As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex faces middle age and an impending divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while Tess confronts the sacrifices she made for their family—forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form.
Comedian Kevin Hart performs in front of a crowd of 50,000 people at Philadelphia's outdoor venue, Lincoln Financial Field.
One hundred superstar comedians tell the same very, VERY dirty, filthy joke--one shared privately by comics since Vaudeville.
A look at the work of two stand-up comics, Jerry Seinfeld and a lesser-known newcomer, detailing the effort and frustration behind putting together a successful act and career while living a life on the road.
A culmination of Chelsea Handler's stand-up comedy tour in support of her fourth New York Times #1 Bestseller, Uganda Be Kidding Me.
Facing a world gone sideways, comedy icon Dave Chappelle delivers bold truths and potent punchlines in this no-holds-barred special.
In a life full of triumph and failure, "National Lampoon" co-founder Doug Kenney built a comedy empire, molding pop culture in the 1970s.
From his problem with protection crystals to his beef with social media trolls, comedian Matt Rife holds nothing back in this rollicking stand-up special.
In his final comedy special, Norm Macdonald ponders casinos, cannibalism, living wills and why you have to be ready for whatever life throws your way.
A behind-the-scenes mockumentary of Tropic Thunder.
An inspiring, triumphant and wickedly funny portrait of one of comedy’s most enigmatic and important figures, CALL ME LUCKY tells the story of Barry Crimmins, a beer-swilling, politically outspoken and whip-smart comic whose efforts in the 70s and 80s fostered the talents of the next generation of standup comedians. But beneath Crimmins’ gruff, hard-drinking, curmudgeonly persona lay an undercurrent of rage stemming from his long-suppressed and horrific abuse as a child – a rage that eventually found its way out of the comedy clubs and television shows and into the political arena.
The house is rockin' and the laughs are rollin' as comedians Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show), D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys), Cedric The Entertainer (The Steve Harvey Show) and Bernie Mac (Life) meet in this riotously comedy summit directed by Spike Lee.
The comedic stylings of four sort-of famous funnymen are brought to the big screen courtesy of this 2002 documentary.
When the denizens of Littlehampton – including conservative Edith – begin receiving letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose is charged with the crime. Suspecting something amiss, the town's women band together to investigate.
An unlikely friendship kindles between a struggling stand-up comedian from L.A. — forced to move back home to Eastern Long Island with his tail between his legs — and a tragically flawed, but charming and charismatic, alcoholic dermatologist. Discovering to be kindred spirits, each helps the other find healing, in addition to the confidence to face the "failures" in their lives.
An aspiring young filmmaker gets involved with an eccentric gangster for the financing of his first film.
What does it mean to be a successful comedian? How far can the boundaries of taste be pushed to get a laugh? Four top comics, Ricky Gervais, Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock, discuss and debate their craft.
Offbeat documentarian Chris Smith provides a behind-the-scenes look at how Jim Carrey adopted the persona of idiosyncratic comedian Andy Kaufman on the set of Man on the Moon.